A Step-By-Step Tutorial For Getting Started With Snapchat

Let me guess – you found this post because you don’t use Snapchat. But, you keep hearing it’s the hot new social media app, so now you need to learn Snapchat!

Or maybe, you just downloaded the app and immediately started panicking trying to figure it out. You might have even taken a few crappy photos with it and sent them to somebody. You think you did everything right, but who knows. So you gave up. You shrugged it off and claimed it was just for those damn millennials anyways.

Well, here’s the thing – you can use Snapchat, and we promise you’re going to love it. Just follow this simple step-by-step tutorial for getting started with Snapchat.

The Snapchat Terminology

Snaps

Snaps are a picture or video taken and shared with friends on Snapchat. Snaps can be viewed for up to 10 seconds, depending on the amount of time the user chooses. By default, Snaps disappear from the screen once they are viewed, unless your friend decided to keep it with a screenshot.

Stories

Stories are compilations of Snaps that essentially create a story. Snaps appear in chronological order with a beginning, middle and end. Make sure you change your privacy settings to Everyone if you want to share with all your followers. Stories only stay live for 24 hours, at which point they reset and you begin a new story.

Chat

Swipe right to see a list of your friends. If you see a blue dot at the bottom of your chat screen, it means your friend is there to chat. You can text back and forth in the typical way, but when you leave the Chat screen, messages between you and your friend will disappear. Tap the screen to text or video chat your friend.

How To Set Up Snapchat

On the Welcome screen, tap ‘SIGN UP.’

Tap the field that says ‘Email Address’ and enter a valid email address.

Tap the field that says ‘Password’ and enter a secure password.

Choosing your Username. Please note, you cannot change your Username once you have set it. If you choose to delete your account, your Username will no longer be available.

Finish the rest of the on screen prompts to sign up.

How To Take Your First Snap

To take a photo Snap, just tap center circle once!

To record a video Snap, press and hold the center circle down.

To send a Snap, tap the arrow and select the friends you want to share your Snap with!

Bonus* After you take a Snap, swipe right on the preview screen to add colored filters, the current time, local weather, speed overlays, or Geofilters to your Snaps.

The Home Screen Dissected

Tap to discard your Snap.

Tap to see emoji stickers you can add to your Snap.

Tap to add a caption! Tap again to super-size your caption. You can also press and hold and drag your finger across the screen to move your caption around!

Tap to doodle on your Snap! Tap the slider to pick a color, and use your finger to draw on the Snap. If you make a mistake, no problem! Simply tap the Undo arrow.

Tap to choose how long friends can view your Snap! Remember — a friend can always replay your Snap, or take a screenshot to save a copy.

Tap to save your Snap to your Camera Roll.

Tap to instantly add a Snap to your daily Story.

Tap when you’re finished to send your Snap to friends! Tap the names of the

How To View Your Snaps

To view a Snap, simply tap once on the Snap!

The outer ring of the circle represents how much time is left in the current Snap.

The ring will disappear as you are viewing the Snap, indicating how much time you have left to view it!

How To View Your Stories

Swipe left on the Camera screen to the Stories screen.

Scroll down to ‘Recent Updates’.

Tap a Snapchatter’s name to view their Story.

After you finish a Story, the next one begins automatically.

If you want to skip to the next Story, simply swipe left.

If you actually made it to this point, and completed the entire tutorial, then you’re pretty much a Snapchat pro. It’s that simple!

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10 Comments

Who’s so behind the times? Me, right here. I have been contemplating adding this after spending some time with my sister, but haven’t taken the plunge yet. Now, I can be fully equipped when I’m ready. Thanks!

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Hello, and welcome to the Moose Studio Blog! We are Josh and Michaela - a wedding photography team based in Newport Beach, California. Grab some coffee and explore our latest work, browse resources for bloggers and get a peek in our life!